Compare and Contrast Qualitative and Quantitaitve Research...

Compare and contrast Qualitative and Quantitative research methods Monique Gowans Charles Stuart University Compare and Contrast Qualitative and Quantitative Research Methods Qualitative research methods are complex meaningful analysis characterised by processes and meanings that are not experimentally examined or measured in terms of mathematical measurements (Lincoln, 2003; Sarantakos, 2005). Quantitative research however, relies and builds on mathematical procedures and methods, such as frequency, quality, amount and statistical procedure. This paper will compare and contrast both qualitative and quantitative research methods endeavouring to highlight differences and similarities between the two methods. Qualitative†¦show more content†¦Often a researcher undertaking qualitative research will not commence their research with a hypothesis but rather develop one based on the outcome and information of the research (Burton 2007/2010). Both qualitative and quantitative research methods are concerned with an individual’s point of view. Qualitative analysis tends to get clo ser to an individual’s perspective through the use of interviews and observation (Lincoln, 2003). Quantitative methods are unable to achieve and capture an individual’s perspective as they focus more on remote standardised procedures. Qualitative analysis provides explanations that tend to be rich in detail and capable of showing sensitivity and sequences in social life (Lincoln, 2003). Although qualitative researchers are more likely to come up against the constraints of everyday social life, qualitative research embed their findings within the action of the social world (Lincoln, 2003), in contrast quantitative research seldom studies the world directly. Quantitative research is diverse and complex in that it employs many advantageous processes in its research. Quantitative research provide fast data processing and analysis of huge amounts of data, being a relatively inexpensive way to process and analyse data while attaining high reliability in the research proje ct (Linclon, 2003; Srantakos, 2005). Quantitative research thus, is a